Heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

Tubes extend in a first direction and are stacked in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. A side plate is located on an outer side of the tubes in the second direction. A core plate extends in the second direction, and longitudinal end portions of the tubes are joined to the core plate. A through-hole extends through a bent portion of a holding claw of the core plate. A projection is formed in a side plate end portion of the side plate to project in the first direction. The projection is inserted through the through-hole of the holding claw.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and incorporates herein by referenceJapanese Patent Application No. 2010-257181 filed on Nov. 17, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger.

2. Description of Related Art

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP 2007-120827Ateaches a heat exchanger (more specifically, a radiator of a vehicle).This heat exchanger includes a core, in which tubes are stacked oneafter another in a stacking direction such that a fin is interposedbetween each adjacent two of the tubes. Two core plates are provided ontwo opposed longitudinal end sides, respectively, of the tubes. Eachcore plate includes tube holes and a groove. The tube holes are formedin a tube joint surface of the core plate, and the groove is formed tosurround the tube joint surface in the core plate. Longitudinal endportions of the tubes are joined to the tube holes, respectively, of thecore plate, and an opening end of a tank main body is inserted into thegroove of the core plate.

Furthermore, a holding claw is formed in an outer wall surface (a coreplate end portion) of each longitudinal end portion of the core plateand is bent by 180 degrees from the tank main body side toward thelongitudinal center side of the tubes. Two reinforcing side plates(inserts) are placed on two sides, respectively, of the core, which areopposed to each other in the stacking direction of the tubes. Acorresponding longitudinal end portion of the corresponding side plateis inserted into a gap between the outer wall surface and the holdingclaw. In the side plate, a shallow recess (a stepped part) is formed ina widthwise center part of the longitudinal end portion of the sideplate, which is centered in the longitudinal end portion in an air flowdirection of cooling air applied to the core of the heat exchanger. Thisrecess is placed at a corresponding location where an end of the holdingclaw, which is bent by 180 degrees, is positioned relative to andengages the shallow recess. The tubes, the fins and the core plates aresecurely brazed together in a brazing process with a brazing material,which is previously applied to each brazing location (contact location)of the tubes, the fins and the core plates.

At the time of assembling the core of the above heat exchanger, thetubes and the fins are alternately stacked one after another in thestacking direction, and the two side plates are placed at the twooutermost sides, respectively, of the stack of the tubes and the fins,which are opposed to each other in the stacking direction. In this way,a stacked assembly of the tubes, the fins and the side plates is formed.Thereafter, the longitudinal end portions of the tubes of the stackedassembly are inserted into the tube holes of the core plates, and thelongitudinal end portions of the side plates are inserted into the gaps,respectively, each of which is formed between the corresponding outerwall surface and the corresponding holding claw. Thereby, the assemblingof the core is completed.

The shallow recess (stepped part) of the longitudinal end portion ofeach side plate is made shallow and is positioned relative to thecorresponding holding claw. Therefore, when an external force is appliedin the air flow direction after the completion of the assembling of thecore, each side plate may possibly be inadvertently released from thecorresponding gap between the corresponding outer wall surface and thecorresponding holding claw to possibly cause disassembling, i.e.,collapse of the temporarily assembled core before the brazing process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above disadvantage. According to thepresent invention, there is provided a heat exchanger, which includes aplurality of tubes, a side plate, a core plate and a tank. The tubesextend in a first direction and are stacked one after another in asecond direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. The sideplate is adapted to reinforce the plurality of tubes. The side plate islocated on an outer side of the plurality of tubes in the seconddirection and extends in the first direction. The core plate extends inthe second direction. A longitudinal end portion of each of theplurality of tubes is joined to the core plate. The tank is fixed to thecore plate. A holding claw is formed in the core plate and is bent intoa U-shape from a tank side end of an outer wall surface of alongitudinal end portion of the core plate to extend in the firstdirection on an outer side of the outer wall surface toward a side wherethe plurality of tubes is located. The side plate includes a side plateend portion, which is an end portion of the side plate in the firstdirection and is inserted into a gap that is defined between the outerwall surface and the holding claw. A through-hole extends through a bentportion of the holding claw, which is bent into the U-shape. Aprojection is formed in the side plate end portion to project in thefirst direction. The projection is inserted through the through-hole ofthe holding claw.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with additional objectives, features andadvantages thereof, will be best understood from the followingdescription, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a radiator according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken in a direction of an arrow II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a core plate and a stacked assemblyof tubes, fins and side plates according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a screw used in an assembling process ofa core of a radiator according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a pusher jig used to install a core plateto a stacked assembly of tubes, fins and side plates according to thesecond embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments,similar components are indicated by the same reference numerals and willnot be redundantly described to simplify the description. In each of thefollowing embodiments, if only a part of a structure is described, theremaining part of the structure is the same as that of the previouslydescribed embodiment(s). Any one or more components of any one of thefollowing embodiments may be combined with the components of the otherone of the following embodiments without departing a scope and spirit ofthe present invention.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In thefirst embodiment, a heat exchanger of the present invention isimplemented as a radiator 100, which cools an engine of a vehicle (e.g.,an automobile), more specifically coolant of the engine with cooling airapplied externally to the radiator 100. FIG. 1 is a front view of theradiator 100 showing an entire structure of the radiator 100. FIG. 2 isa view taken in a direction of an arrow II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is anexploded view showing one of core plates 114 as well as a stackedassembly of tubes 111, fins 112 and side plates 113. FIG. 4 is across-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the radiator 100 includes a core 110, an uppertank 120 and a lower tank 130. The radiator 100 is a vertical flow typeradiator, in which the coolant flows through the stacked tubes 111 inthe core 110 from the upper side toward the lower side in FIG. 1.

The core 110 includes the tubes 111, the fins 112, the side plates 113and the core plates 114. These components 111-114 are made of aluminumor an aluminum alloy, which has a high strength and is highly corrosionresistant.

Each tube 111 is a tubular member, in which the coolant flows.Furthermore, the tube 111 is formed by, for example, bending anelongated rectangular plate material and is configured as a flat tube,which has a generally flat cross section in a plane that extends in adirection perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the tube 111. Thelongitudinal direction of the tube 111 will be also referred to as afirst direction. Furthermore, each fin 112 is a heat radiation memberthat enlarges a heat transfer surface area (i.e., a heat radiatingsurface area). In the present embodiment, the fin 112 is a corrugatefin, which is formed by bending an elongated thin rectangular platematerial into a wavy form through a roll forming process.

Each side plate 113 is a reinforcing member, which is adapted toreinforce the structure of the core 110 (thereby reinforcing the tubes111) and is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the tube 111. Alength of the side plate 113 is set to be substantially the same as alength of the tube 111 in the longitudinal direction of the tube 111. Anintermediate portion (also referred to as a general portion) 113 a,which is located in a longitudinal intermediate region of the side plate113, is configured to have a U-shaped cross section that opens toward anouter side in a stacking direction (a left-to-right direction in FIG. 1)of the tubes 111, which will be also referred to as a second directionthat is perpendicular to the first direction. Specifically, theintermediate portion 113 a has a bottom wall portion and two side wallportions, and these two side wall portions project from two lateraledges of the bottom wall portion toward the outer side (a left side inFIG. 3) in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. Furthermore, alongitudinal and portion (hereinafter referred to as a side plate endportion) 113 b of the side plate 113 is configured into a rectangularplate form that corresponds to a shape of the bottom wall portion of theintermediate portion 113 a, from which the two side wall portions areremoved. The side plate end portion 113 b is bent outwardly in thestacking direction of the tubes 111 to form a step (slope). A width ofthe side plate end portion 113 b, which is measured in a flow direction(hereinafter referred to as an air flow direction or air flowingdirection) of cooling air, which is applied by an electric fan (notshown) to the core 110 of the radiator 100 to cool the same, is set tobe smaller than a width of the intermediate portion 113 a, which ismeasured in the air flow direction. The air flow direction is alsoreferred to a third direction and is perpendicular to the stackingdirection of the tubes 111 and also perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of each tube 111.

A distal end part 113 c is formed in a distal end part (an upper part inFIG. 2) of the side plate end portion 113 b. A projection 113 d isformed in the distal end part 113 c to project in the longitudinaldirection of the side plate 113. The projection 113 d is placed in acenter location of the distal end part 113 c, which is centered in thedistal end part 113 c in the air flow direction. The projection 113 d isconfigured into a plate form and is continuously extends from the sideplate end portion 113 b. The projection 113 d is shaped into atrapezoidal shape and is tapered toward a distal end of the projection113 d when the projection 113 d is viewed in the stacking direction ofthe tubes 111. Specifically, two lateral sides of the projection 113 d,which are opposed to each other in the air flow direction, are taperedfrom a base end toward a distal end thereof to have a progressivelydistally decreasing distance therebetween, i.e., are tilted toward acenter location of the projection 113 d, which is centered in the airflow direction. Thereby, the two lateral sides of the projection 113 dform a tapered portion 113 e. Preferably, a projecting length of theprojection 113 d, which is measured from the base and of the projection113 d located in the distal end part 113 c, is set to be generally twoor three times larger than a plate thickness of a holding claw 114 d ofthe core plate 114, which will be described later.

The core plate 114 is a narrow elongated plate member, which iselongated in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. A groove 114 b isformed by press working in an outer peripheral portion of the core plate114 to extend all around the core plate 114. A wall surface of thegroove 114 b, which is located at an outer side (the left side in FIG.3) of the groove 114 b, extends in the longitudinal direction of thetube 111. A plurality (two in this instance) of pawls 114 c is formed inthis wall surface of the groove 114 b. An outer peripheral wall surfaceof each longitudinal end portion (the left end portion in FIG. 3) of thecore plate 114 will be hereinafter referred to as an outer wall surface114 a. The corresponding side plate end portion 113 b, which extendsparallel to the outer wall surface 114 a, makes surface-to-surfacecontact and is joined to the outer wall surface 114 a.

The two pawls 114 c are formed in the outer wall surface 114 a such thatthe two pawls 114 c are symmetrically placed about a center location ofthe outer wall surface 114 a, which is centered in the air flowdirection. An extent of a space between the two pawls 114 c is set to belarger than the width of the side plate end portion 113 b, which ismeasured in the air flow direction. The holding claw 114 d is formedbetween the two pawls 114 c (a center location of the outer wall surface114 e. which is centered in the air flow direction). An upper tank 120side end portion (a claw portion) of the outer wall surface 114 a, whichprojects toward the upper tank 120, is bent by 180 degrees toward thetubes 111 to form the holding claw 114 d. That is, the holding claw 114d includes a U-turned portion (bent portion) and a claw main body. TheU-turned portion is formed by bending the upper tank 120 side endportion of the outer wall surface 114 a toward the tubes 111 in aU-shape form. The claw main body extends from the U-turned portiontoward the tubes 111. A gap is formed between the outer wall surface 114a and the claw main body of the holding claw 114 d, and the side plateend portion 113 b is insertable into this gap.

A width of the holding claw 114 d, which is measured in the air flowdirection, is set to be generally the same as the width of the sideplate end portion 113 b, which is measured in the air flow direction. Aprojecting length of the claw main body of the holding claw 114 d, whichprojects toward the tubes 111, is set such that the claw main bodycovers at least a portion of the side plate end portion 113 b to limitoutward movement of the side plate end portion 113 b in the stackingdirection of the tubes 111. Furthermore, the distal end part 113 c ofthe side end portion 113 b is placed in the inner side of the U-turnedportion of the holding claw 114 d, and thereby the longitudinal movementof the side plate end portion 113 b in the longitudinal direction of theside plate 113 is limited.

A through-hole 114 e is formed to extend through the wall of theU-turned portion of the holding claw 114 d in a thickness directionthereof, and the projection 113 d of the side plate 113 is insertablethrough the through-hole 114 e in the longitudinal direction of the sideplate 113. The through-hole 114 e is elongated in the air flowdirection. A width of the through-hole 114 e, which is measured in theair flow direction, is set to be larger than a width of the distal endof the projection 113 d, which is measured in the air flow direction.Furthermore, the width of the through-hole 114 e, which is measured inthe air flow direction, is set to be slightly larger than or generallyequal to a width of the base end of the projection 113 d, which ismeasured in the air flow direction. Thereby, when the projection 113 dis completely inserted through the through hole 114 e to place the baseend of the projection 113 d into the through-hole 114 e, the movement ofthe projection 113 d and thereby of the side plate 113 in the air flowdirection is limited.

A plurality of tube holes 114 f is formed in the core plate 114 at aninner area of the core plate 114 (a main surface of the core plate 114),which is located on an inner side (a right side in FIG. 3) of the groove114 b. The tube holes 114 f are arranged one after another to correspondwith the locations of the tubes 111, and each tube hole 114 f has across section, which corresponds to a cross section of the correspondingtube 111.

The tubes 111 and the fins 112 are stacked such that the tubes 111 andthe fins 112 are alternately arranged one after another in the stackingdirection (the left-to-right direction in FIG. 1). The wave crests ofeach fin 112 contact the outer wall surfaces the adjacent tubes 111.Each side plate 113 is placed on an outer side of a correspondingoutermost one (also referred to as an outermost fin) of the fins 112,which is closes to the side plate 113 and is located outermost in thestacking direction of the tubes 111. The wave crests of the outermostfin 112 contact the intermediate portion 113 a of the side plate 113.The side plate 113 is placed such that a location of the distal end ofthe projection 113 d of the side plate 113 generally coincides with alocation of a longitudinal end (hereinafter referred to as a tube end111 a) of each of the tubes 111 in the longitudinal direction of thetube 111, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, each tube end 111 a is inserted through thecorresponding tube hole 114 f of the core plate 114. Furthermore, theside plate end portion 113 b is inserted into the gap between the outerwall surface 114 a of the core plate 114 and the holding claw 114 d, andthe side plate end portion 113 b contacts the outer wall surface 114 a.Moreover, the projection 113 d of the side plate 113 is inserted intothe through-hole 114 e of the holding claw 114 d.

The tubes 111, the fins 112, the side plates 113 and the core plates 114are brazed together with a brazing material applied to the surfaces ofthe tubes 111, the side plates 13 and the core plates 114 to form thecore 110.

Each of the upper tank (tank) 120 and the lower tank (tank) 130 extendsalong the length of the corresponding core plate 114 in the stackingdirection of the tubes 111. Each of the upper and lower tanks 120, 130is configured into a half-container body that has a U-shaped crosssection in a plane, which is taken in a direction perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the tank 120, 130. An opening end of each tank120, 130, which is directed toward the core 110, is inserted into thegroove 114 b of the adjacent core plate 114 and is securely held by thepawls 114 c through a sealing packing (not shown) upon swaging the pawls114 c against the tank 120, 130. Therefore, each of the tanks 120, 130is mechanically fixed to the corresponding core plate 114. The tubes 111(more specifically, the interior of each tube 111) is communicated withthe interior space of each tank 120, 130.

The upper tank 120 is a tank that distributes the coolant from theengine to each tube 111. The upper tank 120 is made of a resin material(e.g., polyamide also referred to as a PA material). The upper tank 120includes a tank main body 121, which is formed as the half-containerbody. The tank main body 121 has an inlet pipe 121 a, a plurality (fourin this instance) of fan shroud attachment portions 121 b and aplurality (two in this instance) of vehicle body attachment portions 121c, which are formed integrally in the tank main body 121. The inlet pipe121 a receives the coolant from the engine. Upper connections of a fanshroud of the electric fan (not shown) are installed to the shroudattachment portions 121 b, respectively. The vehicle body attachmentportions 121 c are installed to a body of the vehicle.

The lower tank 130 is a tank that collects the coolant from therespective tubes 111. The lower tank 130 is made of a resin material(e.g., polyamide also referred to as the PA material). Similar to theupper tank 120, the lower tank 130 includes a tank main body 131, whichis formed as the half-container body. The tank main body 131 has anoutlet pipe 131 a, a plurality (two in this instance) of fan shroudattachment portions 131 b, a plurality (two in this instance) of vehiclebody attachment portions 131 c and a drainer 131 d, which are formedintegrally in the tank main body 131. The outlet pipe 131 a outputs thecoolant from the interior of the tank main body 131. Lower connectionsof the fan shroud are installed to the fan shroud attachment portions131 b, respectively. The vehicle body attachment portions 131 c areinstalled to the body of the vehicle. The drainer 131 d is provided todrain the coolant at the time of maintenance. In addition, an oil cooler140 is installed in the lower tank 130 to cool automatic transmissionfluid (ATF) of an automatic transmission of the vehicle.

The radiator 100, which is formed as described above, is placed in afront portion of an engine compartment (a behind of a grille) of thevehicle. The vehicle body attachment portions 121 c, 131 c are installedto a frame of the body of the vehicle. An inlet hose extending from theengine is installed to the inlet pipe 121 a. In addition, an outlet hosereturning to the engine is installed to the outlet pipe 131 a.

The coolant, which is supplied from the engine into the upper tank 120through the inlet hose and the inlet pipe 121 a, is distributed into thetubes 111 and flows downward through the tubes 111. At this time, thecoolant, which flows downward through each tube 111, is cooled throughheat exchange with the cooling air applied to the core 110. This heatexchange is promoted by the fins 112 joined to the tubes 111. Then, thecoolant is collected into the lower tank 130 after flowing through thetubes 111 and is returned to the engine trough the outlet pipe 131 a andthe outlet hose.

At the time of assembling the core 110 of the radiator 100, each of thetwo side plate end portions 113 b of each side plate 113 is insertedinto the gap between the outer wall surface 114 a of the correspondingcore plate 114 and the corresponding holding claw 114 d, so that theside plate 113 is secured to the core plate 114 by the holding claw 114d. In this way, the tubes 111 and the fins 112 are held between the sideplates 113. Furthermore, the projection 113 d of each side plate endportion 113 b of each side plate 113 is inserted into the through-hole114 e of the corresponding holding claw 114 d.

In this way, upon completion of the assembling process of the core 110through the assembling of the tubes 111, the fins 112, the side plates113 and the core plates 114, the side plate end portions 113 b can besecurely held with the holding claws 114 d, respectively, in both of thestacking direction of the tubes 111 and the longitudinal direction ofthe tubes 111. Furthermore, each projection 113 d of each side plate 113is inserted into the through-hole 114 e of the corresponding holdingclaw 114 d, so that the corresponding side plate end portion 113 b canbe reliably and securely held in the air flow direction. Thereby, theassembled state of the core 110 is securely maintained, so that the sideplates 113 will not be come off from the core plates 114. Thereby, it ispossible to limit the disassembling of the core 110.

The tapered portion 113 e is formed in each projection 113 d, asdiscussed above. Therefore, at the time of assembling the tubes 111 andthe side plates 113 to the core plates 114, the insertion of theprojection 113 d can be started while a sufficient gap is providedbetween the distal end of the projection 113 d and the inner surface ofthe through-hole 114 e. Therefore, it is possible to improve and easethe insertion of the projection 113 d into the through-hole 114 e. Whenthe projection 113 d is completely inserted through the through-hole 114e, the base end of the projection 113 d is fitted into the through-hole114 e without having a substantial gap between the base end of theprojection 113 d and the inner surface of the through-hole 114 e.Therefore, the projection 113 d can be securely held by the holding claw114 d without forming a substantial play therebetween in the air flowdirection, i.e., without causing a rattling movement therebetween in theair flow direction.

Furthermore, the location of the distal end of the projection 113 d ofeach side plate 113 is set to generally coincide with the location ofthe tube end 111 a of each of the tubes 111 in the longitudinaldirection of the tubes 111, as discussed above. Therefore, at the timeof stacking, i.e., assembling the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the sideplates 113 together or at the time of installing the core plates 114 tothe tubes 111 and the side plates 113, a positioning member, such asimple plate, may be placed on the side where the corresponding tank120, 130 is placed during the process of positioning the tube ends 111 aof the tubes 111 and the distal ends of the projections 113 d of theside plates 113. In this way, the process of the positioning can beeased while the configuration of the positioning member is simplified.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention. Thesecond embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except thefollowing difference. Specifically, in the second embodiment, thelocation of each projection 113 d of each side plate 113 (the side plateend portion 113 b) relative to the adjacent outermost one (also referredto as an outermost tube) of the tubes 111, which is closest to the sideplate 113 and is located outermost in the stacking direction of thetubes 111, is set based on a tube-to-tube pitch Tp.

In the core 110, the tube-to-tube pitch Tp, i.e., an interval betweeneach adjacent two of the tubes 111 is set to a predetermined value basedon a thickness of each tube 111, which is measured in the stackingdirection, and a height of the crests of each fin 112, which is measuredin the stacking direction. In the present embodiment, a distance(hereinafter referred to as a tube-to-side plate pitch) between a centerof the outermost tube 111, which is centered in the outermost tube 111in the stacking direction, and a center of the adjacent projection 113 d(the side plate end portion 113 b), which is centered in the projection113 d in the stacking direction, is set to a value, which is obtained bymultiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with an integer number. Desirably,this integer number is two (2), so that the tube-to-side plate pitch=2Tp in this embodiment. This setting is made for the following reason inview of a requirement of the following manufacturing process.

Specifically, the core 110 is assembled through the following procedure.

(1) The tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113 are assembledinto the stacked assembly and is transferred to a next assemblingprocess.

(2) The stacked assembly is compressed in the stacking direction toimplement and maintain the preset tube-to-tube pitch Tp.

(3) The core plates 114 are pressed and fitted to the corresponding tubeends 111 e. and the side plate end portions 113 b of the side plates 113are inserted into the corresponding holding claws 114 d such that theprojections 113 d are inserted through the through-holes 114 e of thecorresponding holding claws 114 d.

At the time of transferring, i.e., transporting the stacked assembly tothe next assembling process discussed in the above section (1), a screw210 shown in FIG. 5 is used. The screw 210 is a threaded structure, inwhich a ridge 211 and a valley 212 are spirally wound. Avalley-to-valley pitch (also referred to as a screw pitch), which ismeasured between each adjacent two segments of the valley 212 located onone side and the other side of an adjacent segment of the ridge 211along the length of the screw 210, is set to be the same as thetube-to-tube pitch Tp. As shown in FIG. 5, the tube ends 111 a of thetubes 111 and the projections 113 d of the side plates 113 are insertedinto the corresponding segments, respectively, of the valley 212 of thescrew 210. When the screw 210 is rotated, the stacked assembly istransferred in the axial direction of the screw 210.

At this time, since the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value,which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with theinteger number (two in this embodiment), the projections 113 d (the sideplate end portions 113 b) of the side plates 113 can be inserted intothe corresponding segments of the valley 212 in addition to the tubeends 111 a. Thereby, the stacked assembly of the tubes 111, the fins 112and the side plates 113 can be transferred, i.e., transported with thescrew 210.

Furthermore, at the time of installing the core plates 114 discussedabove in the section (3), a pusher jig 220 shown in FIG. 6 is used. Thepusher jig 220 includes a plurality of protrusions 221, which protrudefrom a planar main body of the pusher jig 220 that is held parallel toand is located on a tank side of the main surface of the core plate 114,to which the tubes 111 are joined. The protrusions 221 are arranged oneafter another in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. Aprotrusion-to-protrusion pitch (also simply referred to as a protrusionpitch) between the centers of each adjacent two of the protrusions 221in the longitudinal direction of the screw 210 is set to be the same asthe tube-to-tube pitch Tp. Furthermore, in a case where various sizes ofthe cores 110 are manufactured through the manufacturing line(assembling line), a length of the pusher jig 220 (the main body), whichis measured in a direction of the row of the protrusions 221 of thepusher jig 220, is set to be the same as a maximum possible length ofthe core plate 114 of the core 110, which has the maximum possiblenumber of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113 among thevarious sizes of the cores 110.

In the state where each of the protrusions 221 of the pusher jig 220 isplaced between the corresponding adjacent two of the tubes 111 after thesetting of the core plate 114 to the stacked assembly of the tubes 111,the fins 112 and the side plates 113, the pusher jig 220 is pushedagainst the core plate 114 from the tank 120, 130 side toward the tube111 side. Thereby, the core plate 114 is fitted to the stacked assemblyof the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113.

In this embodiment, the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value,which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with theinteger number (two in this embodiment). Therefore, it is only requiredto provide the pusher jig 220, which has the length that corresponds tothe maximum possible number of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the sideplates 113, which are stacked together. In this way, it is possible toavoid the abutment of the projections 113 d (the side plate end portions113 b) of the side plates 113 against the protrusions 221 of the pusherjig 220 even in the case where the manufacturing line need to producethe various sizes of the cores 110, which have different numbers,respectively, of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113.Thereby, the core plates 114 of various sizes can be installed by usingthe single pusher jig 220 without a need for replacing the pusher jig220 to another one.

Furthermore, the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value, which isobtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with two in thisembodiment, as discussed above. Therefore, the minimum size of theconnection (the groove 114 b) between the core plate 114 and the tank120, 130 can be formed in the outer peripheral portion of the core plate114, and it is possible to avoid formation of a wasteful space, which isnot used in the heat exchange, at a location between each outermost tube111 and the adjacent side plate end portion 113 b. Thereby, it ispossible to form the radiator 100 into the compact size (low profile).

Now, modifications of the above embodiments will be described.

In the above embodiments, the tapered portion 113 e is formed in theprojection 113 d of each side plate 113. However, if the projection 113d can be appropriately inserted into the corresponding through-hole 114e without a difficulty, the tapered portion 113 e may be eliminated. Insuch a case, the width of the projection 113 d, which is measured in theair flow direction, may be set to be slightly smaller than the width ofthe corresponding through-hole 114 e, which is measured in the air flowdirection.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the location of the distal end ofeach projection 113 d of each side plate 113 in the longitudinaldirection of the tubes 111 coincides with the location of eachcorresponding tube end 111 a in the longitudinal direction of the tubes111. However, the present invention is not limited this. Specifically,the shape of the positioning member, which is used to position thecorresponding component (the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates113) of the stacked assembly or of the assembly of the core 110, may bechanged to any appropriate shape (e.g., by changing the planar member tothe stepped member) to correspond with such a change in the positioningof the corresponding component (the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the sideplates 113).

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the tube-to-side plate pitch isset to the value, which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tubepitch Tp with the integer number (e.g., two). However, the presentinvention is not limited to this. Specifically, the use of the screw 210and the pusher jig 220 discussed in the second embodiment may beeliminated from the manufacturing process. Alternatively, a transferringmechanism (a transporting mechanism) and a pusher mechanism, whichcorrespond to the configuration of the stacked assembly or the core 110,may be used in place of the screw 210 and the pusher jig 220. In such acase, the tube-to-side plate pitch may be appropriately set depending ona need.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the heat exchanger is implementedas the radiator 100 for cooling the engine. However, the heat exchangerof the present invention may be implemented as any other type of heatexchanger, such as an intercooler for cooling the intake air of theengine or a condenser for a refrigeration cycle, as long as the sideplate end portion 113 b is inserted into the gap between the outer wallsurface 114 a of the core plate 114 and the holding claw 114 d.

In the above embodiments, the holding claw 114 d is the single holdingclaw in each longitudinal end portion of the core plate 114 and iscentered in the longitudinal end portion of the core plate 114 in theair flow direction, and the projection 113 d is the single projection ineach side plate end portion 113 b of the side plate 113 and is centeredin the side plate end portion 113 b (also in the side plate 113) in theair flow direction. However, the number of the holding claw(s) 114 d,each of which has the through hole 114 e, in each longitudinal endportion of the core plate 114 is not limited to one and may be increasedto any desirable number. Similarly, the number of the projection(s) 113d in each side plate end portion 113 b of the side plate 113 is notlimited to one and may be increased to any desirable number, whichcorresponds to the number of the holding claws 114 d.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. The invention in its broader terms is therefore notlimited to the specific details, representative apparatus, andillustrative examples shown and described.

1. A heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of tubes that extend in a first direction and are stacked one after another in a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction; a side plate that is adapted to reinforce the plurality of tubes, wherein the side plate is located on an outer side of the plurality of tubes in the second direction and extends in the first direction; a core plate that extends in the second direction, wherein a longitudinal end portion of each of the plurality of tubes is joined to the core plate; and a tank that is fixed to the core plate, wherein: a holding claw is formed in the core plate and is bent into a U-shape from a tank side end of an outer wall surface of a longitudinal end portion of the core plate to extend in the first direction on an outer side of the outer wall surface toward a side where the plurality of tubes is located; the side plate includes a side plate end portion, which is an and portion of the side plate in the first direction and is inserted into a gap that is defined between the outer wall surface and the holding claw; a through-hole extends through a bent portion of the holding claw, which is bent into the U-shape; a projection is formed in the side plate end portion to project in the first direction; and the projection is inserted through the through-hole of the holding claw.
 2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the projection has a tapered portion, which is tapered in the first direction toward a distal end of the tapered portion.
 3. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein a location of a distal end of the projection in the first direction generally coincides with a location of a longitudinal end of each of the plurality of tubes in the first direction.
 4. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: the plurality of the tubes includes an outermost tube, which is closest to the side plate and is located outermost in the second direction among the plurality of tubes; and a distance between a center of the outermost tube, which is centered in the outermost tube in the second direction, and a center of the projection, which is centered in the projection in the second direction, is set to a value, which is obtained by multiplying a tube-to-tube pitch of the plurality of tubes with an integer number.
 5. The heat exchanger according to claim 4, wherein the integer number is two.
 6. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: the through-hole of the holding claw is elongated in a third direction, which is perpendicular to both of the first direction and the second direction; a distance between two sides of the projection, which are opposed to each other in the third direction, progressively distally decreases from a base end of the projection in the first direction; and the base end of the projection has a width, which is measured in the third direction and generally coincides with a width of the through-hole, which is measured in the third direction.
 7. The heat exchanger according to claim 6, wherein: the holding claw is a single holding claw in the longitudinal end portion of the core plate and is centered in the longitudinal end portion of the core plate in the third direction; and the projection is a single projection in the side plate end portion and is centered in the side plate end portion in the third direction.
 8. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the outer wall surface of the longitudinal end portion of the core plate and the side plate end portion extend parallel to each other in the first direction and make surface-to-surface contact therebetween.
 9. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein: the heat exchanger is a radiator of a vehicle, which is adapted to be cooled with cooling air applied externally thereto; and the third direction generally coincides with a flow direction of the cooling air. 